4116 Adams Avenue
San Diego, CA 92116
619.584.2929
http://www.burgerlounge.com
It's probably wrong for a vegetarian to review a burger joint, but someone has to ask the important questions: is there a veggie burger? And is it any good? Can the onion rings really be that good? Why haven't the employees filed a restraining order against you yet?
The answers are yes, yes, yes, and by miracle only. Such is the wonder of Burger Lounge, San Diego's best burger joint, as they were voted in San Diego Magazine. Because of this joyous occasion, the restaurant was offering free burgers -- a first in already-too-generous Burger Lounge promotions, provided you brought proof that you were a Twitter follower. Let no one ever complain about Twitter again. Burger Lounge does these kinds of promotions all the time -- mention you're a Twitter follower and you get a free order of "½ and ½" (half fries, half onion rings).
Because of this, the line snaked out of the door and down the sidewalk -- another first for Burger Lounge, which was always populated but never packed. Thankfully the line moved fast enough that we weren't discouraged. We sure as hell weren't going back home.
"Who else is a Tweet-head?" a large black woman asked the line as she took a spot behind us. A baby inside climbed the seat to look at us through the window -- easily the most amusing thing a baby can do besides puke on a parent in public. This spawned a conversation between my companions about babies while I waited for the right time to make fun of them about talking babies. Won't we have our thirties and/or forties to have utterly banal conversations about our spawnthings?
Burger Lounge doesn't belabor the point, but they're certified green and obsessed with being organic, biodegradable, and all those other wonderful things that the cynical and ignorant write off as annoying, trendy buzzwords. If you didn't read the card on the table, you'd just think it a slick, upscale burger joint that plays cool music.
The Burger Lounge Vegetarian Burger is freshly made of organic quinoa and comes with the usual burger toppings including grilled or fresh onions and your choice of cheese. As usual, I politely declined the cheese. The quinoa patty is soft and doesn't pretend to be a meat substitute -- I want flavor, not attempted similarity. That only works with fake chicken, anyway. The only complaint about the quinoa patty is that, by the last few bites, the structural integrity of the burger collapses and you have to finish it with a fork. Fine by me. Free burgers means that you attract a gaggle of ungrateful freeloaders who don't appreciate the favor you're doing for them. I made sure to order a side of onion rings to show my appreciation. They're served encrusted in fried batter as any good onion ring should be and sprinkled with green herbs that do their important taste-enhancing beneath the taste of fried.
We ate outside at a table by the door as the line slowly passed us and we quietly pointed out the people in line: Malcolm McDowell masquerading as Terry O'Quinn, the lady bringing three kids to a swanky burger joint -- again with the kids! We're all too young for this bullshit. I thought for a minute about the migraine so many parents must develop just trying to wrangle their kids in restaurants.
Then it happened, as it always did: the last couple bites of burger fell apart and I had to grab at the burger-mush with my fingers. Outside. In front of passersby and a line of hungry consumers. Good food makes you embarrass yourself, but it also keeps you from caring.
by Danny Djeljosevic
[Photos: Ren & Rob Quitasol]
